1 . أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ الطَّالَقَانِيُّ، قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ الْمَنْصُورَ الْهَاشِمِيَّ الْخُرَاسَانِيَّ يَقُولُ: لَا تُعِينُوا الْحُكَّامَ بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ إِذْ يَخْتَصِمُونَ، فَإِنَّكُمْ لَا تَدْرُونَ أَيُّهُمْ أَكْثَرُ لَكُمْ نَفْعًا وَإِلَى مَا يَصِيرُ أَمْرُهُمْ، وَلَا تَتَعَصَّبُوا لِأَحَدِهِمْ تَعَصُّبَ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ، تَقُولُوا: هُوَ مِنْ قَوْمِي وَمَذْهَبِي، فَإِنَّ الظَّالِمَ لَا قَوْمَ لَهُ وَلَا مَذْهَبَ، وَلَا تَخْرُجُوا عَلَى أَحَدِهِمْ حَتَّى يَجْعَلَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ إِلَى الْمَهْدِيِّ سَبِيلًا.
Translation of the saying:
Ahmad ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Talaqani informed us, saying: I heard Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani say: “Do not help some rulers against others when they dispute with each other—because you do not know which of them is more beneficial for you or where their affair will lead. And do not show the partisanship of jahiliyyah for any of them, such that you say: ‘He is from my people and my sect’—because an oppressor has no people and no sect. And do not rise up against any of them until Allah makes a way for you to the Mahdi.”
Explanation of the saying:
His Eminence’s statement, “Because an oppressor has no people and no sect,” means that an oppressor does not care about his people or his sect, and he only seeks wealth and power even at the cost of sacrificing them; or it means that an oppressor has neither people nor sect that can save him from the disgrace of the world and the punishment of the Hereafter—like the statement of Allah Almighty: ﴿وَمَا لِلظَّالِمِينَ مِنْ أَنْصَارٍ﴾[1]; “And the oppressors have no helpers”; or it means that an oppressor destroys his people and his sect, even if he loves them—like the statement of Allah Almighty: ﴿يَقْدُمُ قَوْمَهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فَأَوْرَدَهُمُ النَّارَ ۖ وَبِئْسَ الْوِرْدُ الْمَوْرُودُ﴾[2]; “He leads his people on the Day of Judgement, then he brings them into the fire, which is a wretched place to be brought into,” and His statement: ﴿أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ بَدَّلُوا نِعْمَتَ اللَّهِ كُفْرًا وَأَحَلُّوا قَوْمَهُمْ دَارَ الْبَوَارِ﴾[3]; “Have you not seen those who exchanged the favor of Allah for ingratitude and settled their people in the abode of ruin?” and His statement: ﴿الَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا دِينَهُمْ لَهْوًا وَلَعِبًا وَغَرَّتْهُمُ الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا﴾[4]; “Those who took their religion as play, and whom the life of the world deceived.”
2 . أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الشِّيرَازِيُّ، قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ الْمَنْصُورَ يَقُولُ: إِذَا رَأَيْتُمْ جَبَّارَيْنِ يَقْتَتِلَانِ بِرَمْلٍ فَذَرُوهُمَا يَحْثُو أَحَدُهُمَا عَلَى الْآخَرِ حَتَّى يَهْلِكَ الْأَعْجَزُ! قُلْتُ: أَرَأَيْتَ إِنْ كَانَ أَحَدُهُمَا مِنَ الشِّيعَةِ وَالْآخَرُ مِنَ السُّنَّةِ؟ قَالَ: ذَرُوهُمَا، قُلْتُ: أَرَأَيْتَ إِنْ كَانَ أَحَدُهُمَا مُسْلِمًا وَالْآخَرُ يَهُودِيًّا؟ قَالَ: إِذَا كَانَ ذَلِكَ فَأَعِينُوا الْمُسْلِمَ، لِكَيْ لَا يَغْلِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْيَهُودِيُّ فَيَسُبَّ نَبِيَّكُمْ، وَيُحْرِقَ كِتَابَكُمْ، وَيَهْدِمَ مَسَاجِدَكُمْ.
Translation of the saying:
Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Shirazi informed us, saying: I heard Mansoor say: “Whenever you see two tyrants fighting in the dust, leave them so one throws over the other, until whichever of them is weaker is destroyed!” (Meaning, do not intervene.) I said: “What do you say if one of them is a Shia and the other is a Sunni?” He said: “Leave them.” I said: “What do you say if one of them is a Muslim and the other is a Jew?” He said: “If that were the case, then help the Muslim so the Jew would not gain dominance over you and then insult your Prophet, burn your Book, and destroy your mosques.”
Explanation of the saying:
From this, it is understood that it is not permissible to assist one Muslim oppressor against another Muslim oppressor, whether he is a Shia or a Sunni, and whether he is the ruler of one’s own country or of another country. Rather, it is only permissible to assist a Muslim oppressor against a disbeliever if the disbeliever attacks the Muslim oppressor in order to gain control over Muslims and the Muslim oppressor does not possess sufficient strength to repel him; for Allah Almighty has said: ﴿وَلَنْ يَجْعَلَ اللَّهُ لِلْكَافِرِينَ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ سَبِيلًا﴾[5]; “And Allah will never grant the disbelievers a way over the Muslims.”
